Can the nation that gave us James Bond keep a secret? Theresa May’s shambolic government, its handling of Brexit and now a highly-sensitive leak about China’s Huawei Technologies has the U.K.’s closest allies wondering whether it can be trusted when it comes to intelligence.Last week, confidential discussions on the role the networking giant will play in Britain’s new telecoms networks promptly found their way into the newspapers. The reason allies are on edge is because so-called 5G technology is critical to everything from artificial intelligence to driverless cars, but government departments are split on whether to let Huawei’s expertise near it amid accusations that it aids Chinese espionage.The U.K. is a linchpin of the international “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance, alongside the agencies of the U.S., Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
